Things you need to know before taking up self-employment

If you have been job searching unsuccessfully for a while, perhaps the alternative might be self-employment.

If self-employment is a consideration and the new employer is YOU and you have always wanted more autonomy and independence at work, then read on!

Before embarking on an entrepreneurial path such as a consultant, or starting your own business you will need to assess your readiness for self-employment and how prepared and able you will be to maintain your position.

Self-employment considerations:

Emotional well-being

Are you feeling frustrated with your current employment situation and are wanting a change? Starting self-employment is an exciting but challenging time. Embracing the changes and anxieties that inevitably will occur is one of the undoubted downsides but the feelings of being fulfilled and experiencing personal choice might outweigh these emotions.

Enthusiasm

If you are passionate about your idea for self-employment you will have lots more motivation to be successful. Telling family and friends about your ideas and gauging their responses is a good way of checking your business proposition and enthusiasm.

Vision

Your self-employment proposition must be under pinned with a clear picture and plan of what success will look like and how flexible it can be to meet change. You will need to understand what is a realistic time frame for a profitable business.

Self-management

Self-employment brings with it some challenging issues around personal time and emotional management. Managing your time is probably something you have been capable of within the constraints of your previous employment. But managing the ups and downs of a self-employment..You will need to be resilient and be able to recover from any potential setbacks. Maintaining motivation and enthusiasm as well as keeping up your energy levels can be demanding.

Self confidence

Self-employment takes a lot of confidence and you will need strong self-belief at all times. You need to be confident that you not only have the knowledge and skills but also the abilities for self-employment.

Determination

To succeed at self-employment you need not only passion for your business but also personal drive to manage the ebbs and flows of uncertainty, It can be tough working alone on a new project when your responsibilities cannot necessarily be shared.

Cash flow

It goes without saying that you will need some financial resources to start a new business; even if it is as a freelance consultant you will require some monies to ensure you have printed collateral to start marketing your services. Financial planning and cash flow are all part of a new business and ensuring you have enough funds to maintain some income and make revenue are imperative.

Network

Self-employment can be a lonely business and you will need supporters who can give you advice and guidance on the different aspects of your business and be a sounding board for your ideas and progress. For marketing purposes your contacts can be from varying backgrounds and the more extensive and far reaching your network is, the more champions you will have to spread the word about your new business.

You might also consider buying a franchise or buying an exiting business. These too are elements of self-employment and you will need to check you have adequate resources and all the above items ‘ticked’ to meet requirements and start a successful business.

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